First of Two Parts

Steven Emerson has 3,390,000 reasons to fear Muslims.

That's how many dollars Emerson's for-profit company — Washington-based SAE Productions — collected in 2008 for researching alleged ties between American Muslims and overseas terrorism. The payment came from the Investigative Project on Terrorism Foundation, a nonprofit charity Emerson also founded, which solicits money by telling donors they're in imminent danger from Muslims.

Emerson is a leading member of a multimillion-dollar industry of self-proclaimed experts who spread hate toward Muslims in books and movies, on websites and through speaking appearances.

Great article other than he neglected to mention the 1.2 million plus dead Iraqis in the first sentence and, of course, the 3,000+ 9/11 victims and all the sick and dying 9/11 first responders, Big Oil and empire's initial collateral damage. -- Betsy

It took five years, the deaths of 4,100 U.S. soldiers, and the wounding of 30,000 more to make Iraq safe for Exxon.

It is the inescapable open question since the reasons given by President Bush for the invasion and occupation did not exist - neither the weapons of mass destruction nor Saddam Hussein's ties to al-Qaeda and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Who profits from the Iraq war? More than a quarter of senators and congressmen have invested at least $196 million of their own money in companies doing business with the Department of Defense (DoD) that profit from the death and destruction in Iraq.

According to the latest reports, 151 members of Congress invested close to a quarter-billion in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. These companies got more than $275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to FedSpending.org, a website of the watchdog group OMBWatch.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will announce proposed extensions and enlargements of foreign aid to Israel and Egypt and a proposed arms sales package to Persian Gulf nations including Saudi Arabia before she leaves on a trip to the region on Monday, the officials said.

Details of the proposed deal come as some U.S. officials contend that the Saudi government is not helping the situation in Iraq. The proposed package of advanced weapons for Saudi Arabia has also stoked concern in Israel and among its U.S. backers because it includes satellite-guided bombs, upgrades for its fighters and new naval vessels — systems that theoretically could be used for strikes on Israeli territory.

He resisted, and then only agreed to testify with Bush at his side, and "not under oath and there was to be no recording made of the session nor a stenographer in the room." The "White House has said there will not be a transcript of the session" even though the family members believed they "were entitled to" it. Not to defend Clinton or Gore, but at least they agreed to appear "separately before the panel, and their sessions were recorded." - Jon

Cheney Should Testify Before Congress
The Nation: If VP Can Talk In Libby Trial, He Should Do So On Capitol The Hill As Well

It is expected that he will start talking soon, as part of a self-serving effort to defend a former aide. But once the vice president is done giving that testimony, how hard would it be for him to head over to Capitol Hill and respond to all the questions that members of Congress have been preparing to ask?

It was revealed Tuesday that Cheney will be called to testify on behalf of his former chief of staff, I. Scooter Libby.

Guns & Butter
Wednesday, December 13, 2006, 1:00pm
"Mining The Apocalypse: Terrorism and Private Profit from the Horn to the Heart of Africa"

Interview with journalist and genocide investigator Keith Harmon Snow. A French judge has brought indictments against top officials in Paul Kagame's Rwandan government regarding the 1994 downing of the plane carrying the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, which is routinely cited as the flashpoint for the "Rwandan genocide". We take a look at the Rwandan genocide and the Second Congo War. Keith Snow is releasing his UNICEF/United Nations sponsored investigation into the genocide in Ethiopia of the indigenous Anuak people in the Gambella region of southwest Ethiopia.

Civil War Memorabia enthusiasts rejoiced Tuesday when it was announced that the popularity of the coveted objects had reached record levels in Iraq. Weapons such as rocket propelled grenades, handguns, explosives and depleted uranium had become increasingly valuable in recent weeks, a La Rochelle Times study showed.

If current memorabilia popularity remains at such high levels, it could have a profound effect on the development of Iraqi society and culture, as well as an influence on international oil prices. The Iraqi Dinar, once unpopular with foreign currency holders, could gain ground against other currencies if Iraq is flooded with even more potential Civil War memorabilia.

"In a few years, who knows what some of those depleted uranium rounds will be worth on the memorabilia market," said General Ann R. Key, currently overseeing the Fubar Province in central Iraq.